Das Boot

With the beginning of crab season approaching, we took a day trip to get reacquainted with the Illahee fishing grounds (still located 1492 miles southeast of Dutch Harbor). Crabbing doesn’t open for several days, but fishing and shellfish seasons are underway. Unlike fish and crabs, oysters are pretty easy to catch. Each of us quickly caught a limit and carried them to a picnic table which had fresh water nearby to rinse off the muck. After shucking for about an hour, we were done. The oysters were packed in an ice chest and the shells returned to the beach to serve as a base for new oysters.

We fished for a few hours, but not much luck. Flounders are the main goal, but it seemed only sharks and sculpins wanted to play. Just before we packed up, I finally landed a good sized flounder. I know I promised no more dead fish pictures, but this one was a nice specimen (also a nice dinner along with fried oysters).


While heading back toward Seattle, the ferry suddenly cut its engines and began blasting its horn. A doofus in a small boat had decided to cut right in front of the ferry. In a gesture of kindness, the ferry captain opted not to crush the bozo and send him to the bottom. We paused for a moment until the little boat was out of the way.

As the ferry got underway and rounded a narrow passage into the main Puget Sound, our fellow passengers suddenly got very excited. They began pointing and moving toward the port side of the boat. There had to be something good to see, so we joined the crowd with blackberry cameras at the ready. Here’s the cause of the commotion:


Cool!